Two Games

After pouring over two game tapes of the Lions offense, conclusions can be drawn about new offensive coordinator Mike Martz. The first was this year’s 42-10 Lions’ loss in Minnesota, in which Martz only ran six times. The other was the 49ers’ 19-13 win in Detroit in 2006.

Here’s a brief break down of each game:

-Detroit at Minnesota Dec. 2, 2007: This was one of three games in which the Lions trailed by 30 points in the first half, which explains the lopsided 36 passes to 6 runs ratio. It was also the best game of the year by quarterback Jon Kitna, who completed 27 of 35 passes for 260 yards. He also was hit 11 times in this game, including getting sacked four times.

Martz used every formation possibe – I backs, split backs (which the 49ers never use) no backs, one, two, three, four and five receiver sets. In the last three seasons the 49ers have used four receiver formations a handful of times and have never used five.

Of his 35 passes, 26 of them were on the mark. Of his 35 attempts, 22 of his intended receivers were open by 3 yards or more.

49ers.com

Frank Gore – get used to catching it.

Despite Martz’s complexity, they were few mistakes – only one dropped pass and despite 40 attempts to pass, the offensive line missed one blitz pickup.

What was surprising, was the relatively light use of shifts, which is a Martz hallmark. Of their 46 offensive plays, only 12 used motion. Martz does like motion before a run play, which the Lions did on four of their six designed running plays.

-San Francisco at Detroit, Nov. 12, 2006: Kitna wasn’t nearly as sharp in this game, particularly after taking a brutal hit by blitzing cornerback Shawntae Spencer on his first pass of the second half. He was skittish. He completed 19 of 30 passes for 202 yards with a touchdown and a game-sealing interception. This time, only 18 of his passes were on the mark and he was hurt by wide receiver Roy Williams who dropped a few passes and fumbled once.

Martz wasn’t as successful getting his receivers open against Mike Nolan’s defense, 14 times a receiver was open by 3 yards or more.

Detroit was behind most of the game and running back Kevin Jones only got 13 carries (he gained 44 yards). On eight of those 13 plays, the Lions motioned before the snap.

Here are some conclusions from this relatively small sample size:

-Martz can say a running back will be a center piece of his offense, but it’s the quarterback. He throws at every conceivable possibility.

-We’re not breaking news here, but he’s enormously clever. He was having trouble getting the tight end down the middle against the 49ers linebackers. So on one play, Kitna took a quarterback drop, then faked a draw handoff, and then threw over the middle to a wide open Dan Campbell. The linebackers first dropped, thinking pass, then ran towards the line of scrimmage thinking run. When the pass went over their heads, they weren’t in the picture frame.

-He does try to help his quarterback if there’s pressure. After getting hit twice in a row, he called a couple of screens and draws against the 49ers to give Kitna relief. He also has an impressive array of plays off of very quick quarterback drops.

-Martz will get receivers open, now it will be up to the 49ers quarterbacks to see them and hit them.

-He has to be a heck of a teacher. Despite the all-inclusive nature of his offense and its complexity, he got the Rams and Lions playing his scheme relatively quickly.

One other point, he’s the king of bombast. Take a look at what he said to SI.com last May about the Lions offense: “I’ve got goose bumps. I’ve never been so excited for a season to start.”

After talking to reporters and looking up stories, no one can take what Martz says at face value. I don’t if he likes to play with the press, or if he’s a victim of his own abilities and positive thinking. He once said that Bobby April was the best special teams coach in the league and then fired him.

-Linebacker Brandon Moore was an absulote monster in the game with a sack and several tackles. It’s hard to believe he go so little playing time this year.

–Mike Nolan really knows how to call a defensive game. The defense looked more crisp and fast than this past season. He countered the clever Martz on every front. Instead of ticking off his organization by hiring highly unconventional offensive coordinators, he should go back to being his own defensive coordinator. That’s where he really shines.